Special package or container



J. PETERSON SPECIAL PACKAGE OR CONTAINER Dec. 18, 1923.

Filed March 11, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Dec. 1 1%23.

a rate.

,JONATHAN PETERSON, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 COMBINATIONMACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,-A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

srEcrA PACKAGE on CONTAINER.

Application filed March 11, 1922. Serial No. 543,016.

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN PETER- SON, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented cer- ..tain new and useful Improvements in SpecialPackages or Containers, of which the following is a specification.

The invention provides a new and improved container or packageespecially adapted for ordinary pipe cleaners, which retains thecleaners securely, but permits them to be easily withdrawn one at a timefor use; preserves them from soiling, prevents bending, is very thin andflat andtherefore adapted to be easily carried inthe pocket withoutinconvenience, is very inexpensivein itself, and is moreover capable ofbeing produced by rapid and economical methods. v t

, The-ordinary pipe cleaner consists of two fine wires twisted together,with. fabric or short fibrous threads secured between them,

the fabric or fiber making ineffect a small cylindrical brush surfaceextending the full length of thecleaner: These pipe cleaners have acertain amount of stifi'nes'sabut they are. purposely made fiexible orbendable so that they'may follow the curvatureofsmoke passages in pipes.h v

The cleaners are usually packed in small bunches with a paper bandpassedabout the bunch near the middle and adhesively' secured, leavinglong portions'of the 1 ends of the cleaners exposed. These round bundlesare of such thickness that they are rather bulky and uncomfortable tocarry in the pocket. The projecting ends, moreover, are easily soiledand bent, and while it isdesir able, asabove stated, that the cleanersshall readily bend in'use, it is equally undesirable that they should bebent before use, since these preliminary bends make it very difficultfor the cleaners to be inserted in the pipe passages and moved back andforth to clean them.

It is also difficult to withdraw the-cleaners from such round packages,since the paper torn' or broken, whereupon all of the cleaners areloosened and the package is entirely destroyedi In other cases thecleaners are bent at the middle and are bundled in this condition.

This method of packing is objectionable for many of thereasons abovestated in connection with the long cylindrical packages, and 1s 7especially objectionable because each cleaner has an initial bend nearerthe middle which renders it difficult to use it in the proper manner,for reasons above stated.

To avoidthe' disadvantages of customary methodsof packaging, myinvention in one embodimentconsists of a relatively long and narrow andvery thin and" fiat container coinpo's'edof two normally flat sidemembers of resilient sheet material, such as cardboard o'f su'itablegrade andstilfness, joined together along their longitudinal edges andwith one or usually both ends unconnected or open, a plurality of thedescribed pipe cleaners being inserted in a flat row arrange ment, andbeing retained firmlyagainst displacement b'yf the inherent resiliencyof the container sides; The package consisting of the container and theenclosed cleaners is very'thin andflat, and canbe carried in the pocketwithout inconvenience; The length ofthe container is made usuallysubstantially-equal to the length of the cleaners,-so

that the latter are entirely enclosed and protected from soiling, andare also eflectively prevented from bending. .The cleaners are,moreover, retained in a flat row so that they are easily separated andWithdrawn one at a time for use.

To facilitate withdrawal of the cleaners one by one, as required foruse, the container may be provided on one side, at one end, with a shorttongue or flap, which may be produced by slitting the side materialinward a short distance from the end edge, and this flap may be bentback to expose the ends of the cleaners and permit them to be readilygrasped and withdrawn, one or more at a time. Otherwise, whether thedescribed flap is provided or not, the container is easily sprung openby pressing on its side edges, whereupon one or both ends of thecontainer assumes an approximately oval form, and a single cleaner maybe withdrawn without disturbing the rest of them.

Other important features are described hereafter.

The accompanying drawings show certain exemplifying embodiments of theinvention. After considering these, it will be evident that manyvariations may be made within the principles of the invention; and Icontemplate the employment of any structures which are properly withinthe scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of a package embodying the invention inoneform.

Fig. 2 is a similar'view, showing'the end flap bent open.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section.

Fig. 4t shows a modified form of container.

Fig. 5 shows the same sprung open for removal of cleaners.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section.

The holder or container 1 in one preferred form (Figs. 1, 2 and 3), isof cardboard of moderate thickness. Desirably it consists of a singlesheet of material folded along the line 2, and with a narrowlongitudinal margin 3 of the sheet overlapped and secured upon the otherlongitudinal sheet margin, producing an open-ended container havingnormally flat sides l and 5. The overlapped marginal arrangementproduces, as best seen in the section, Fig. 3, a narrow 3-ply joint inwhich the longitudinal margin of side member 5 is located between alongi tudinal margin of side member 4: and the over-folded longitudinallap 3. This joint may be secured in different ways, for example byadhesive, applied along any of the engaging margins; but adhesiveconnection is found to be insufficiently secure in some cases, sincealthough the glue may hold, surface layers of certain kinds of cardboardmay strip away, weakening or entirely destroying the connection.

The joint is completed, therefore, in one preferred form of theinvention, by placing a row of stitching 6 through the overlappedmargins; and since this oint or connection is located near one edge ofthe container, the stitching may be done after the container is filled,as later described, as well as before filling. The stitching is usuallysufiicientto form a durable and thoroughly satisfactory joint withoutadhesive, but if necessary or desirable for any reason, adhesive may beused also, and in that case will usually be applied before the lap 3 isturned over.

Desirably the folds along the lines 2 are of such a character that theside strips of material 4 and 5 may lie very flat and close togetherprior to filling the container, and when it is necessary or desirablethe container may be pressed in flat condition after A fiat row of pipecleaners T of well known type is placed in the container and thepackageis then complete and ready for sale or use. The natural resiliency ofthe side members 4 and 5 and their tendency I to come together in theabsence of any obstruction, causes them to firmly press and grip theindividual cleaners in the row and to hold them securely in positionagainst accidental displacement.

To remove the cleaners for use, it is only necessary to bend or foldback the tongue 8, as shown in Fig. 2, whereupon one or more of thecleaners may be easily selected and removed without disturbing theothers. Whether the tongue or flap 8 is provided or not, the containercan also be sprung open in the manner described later in connection witha modified form of container.

In addition to its principal purpose, the described package affords avery desirable medium for advertising, since it is so inexpensive thatit can be sold at a very small price, or given away. Therefore, thesurface of the container may be imprinted with suitable advertisingmatter 10. In order to enhance the appearance of the article thecardboard body may be covered with a sheet of covering paper of suitablequality and finish, which maybe applied to the cardboard before thecontainers are formed, or in some cases afterward; and when the cardboard bodies are so covered the advertising or other indicia will, ofcourse,,be imprinted upon the cover paper.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6, show a modified container 11, which is desirable insome cases. In this embodiment of the invention, the longitudi nal edgesof the cardboard sheet are joined by adhesively secured overlappedmargins 13, and stitching is omitted. The flap or tongue of thepreviously-described container is also omitted, although it can beincorporated ifdesired, and would then usually be located on the sidemember 4:.

In the absence of such atongue or flap, the container may be opened bypressing the side edges of the container convergently, as indicated byarrows in Fig. 2, and this pressure may be exerted near only one end ofthe container. The described action causes the end to spread laterallyor assume an approximately oval form, and an individual cleaner may thenbe easily grasped and removed. Or, when the container is opened orspread in the described manner, by pressure near one end or near themiddle, the

entire bunch of cleaners may be shaken out a slight distance so that theends of all of them are exposed, and one may then be very readilygrasped and removed and the others pushed back.

I claim 1. A holder for pipe cleaners or similar articles, comprising anopen-ended receptacle formed of two flat side members of resilient sheetmaterial of substantial thick ness approximately in facial contact andjoined together along their longitudinal edges and normally acting bytheir inherent resiliency to clamp and retain pipe cleaners or similararticles located between them, and a bendable tongue extendinglongitudinally in one of the side member-s at one end and terminatingsubstantially flush with the end of said side member, to give readyaccess to the holder contents.

2. A package of laterally-compressible pipe cleaners or similararticles, comprising a flat row of said cleaners, and a containerenclosing the row, comprising two substantially flat resilient sidepieces of substantial thickness and of length and width substantiallyequal to the dimensions of the contained row of articles, the sidepieces being connected along their side edges and retaining the cleanersby their inherent resiliency, at least one end of the container beingopen, and the entire package being very thin and flat and sufiioientlystiff to protect the cleaners from bending.

3. A package of pipe cleaners or similar articles of the characterdescribed, comprising a flat row of said cleaners in straight parallelarrangement, and a container enclosing the row, comprising twosubstantially flat resilient side pieces of cardboard of substantialthickness and of length and Width substantially equal to the dimensionsof the contained row of articles, the side pieces forming integral partsof a single sheet of material and being connected by folds along theirside edges and retaining the cleaners by their inherent resiliency, thelongitudinal edges of said sheet being joined by an overfolded lap and arow of stitching, at least one end of the container being open, and theentire package being very thin and flat and sufficiently stiff toprotect the cleaners from bending.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 10th day of March, A. D. 1922.

JONATHAN PETERSON.

